35

I turned 35 on Friday. We celebrated with a themed costume party - Superheroes and Supervillains. I was Poison Ivy. There I am in all my long-red-haired glory. Funny, my ass was practically hanging out of the back of my super-short dress, but when you've had hair as short as mine for as long as I have, everybody just noticed the wig and ignored the ass! Or perhaps they were too busy noticing Roxy's Catwoman cleavage - woohoo, baby!

Here are some costumes:

The Green Lantern and Captain America


Captain America and Poison Ivy Number Two (I'm Number One of course!)

Princess Leia and A Stormtrooper

Catwoman and me!

Follow on to the next post for more photos!

More Superheroes and Supervillains

Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent

Batwoman, Ho Ho Ho, and Wonder Woman!

My crazy family as Running Man, The Zit Zapper, Johnny Flame, Super(wo)man, Green Lantern and Poison Ivy!

Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel...with Baby Marvel

Johnny Flame and Super(wo)man!

Captain and Mrs. Canuck!

Local Love

Photo by Faire.

Last night, Graham and Kyla joined us for a Local Love Dinner. They brought a ham from a "happy pig" at Sloping Hills Farm (Qualicum, I believe). We gathered sweet potatoes (mashed with honey and butter), baby potatoes (tossed with butter, roasted garlic, and herbs), brussels sprouts (sauteed with Sloping Hills bacon), corn on the cob (grilled with herb and garlic butter) and golden beets (foil-wrapped and roasted on the BBQ with the corn, then served on the sauteed beet greens) from our favourite farm and our own backyard. I made pumpkin creme brulee for dessert and we cheated on the local-only rules with the bit of sugar we sprinkled on top to brulee. I used honey instead of sugar for the custard though. We set up the table in the living room in front of a crackling fire. Okanagan wines flowed. It was sooooooo yummy.

Oh, living in BC is sweet (and savory!)

The Patch

We couldn't pass up the Pumpkin Patch. It was a sunny October Saturday, and who knows how long it will last?

So Long Summer

The sun is still shining down on us in Vancouver but I know it won't be long before these sandals will need to be packed away.

I love Summer, but Fall runs a pretty close second. Leaves, acorns, brisk bright days, apples, hand-knit hats...much to love!

What I Did This Summer

When people ask what I did this summer, for some reason, I always answer "nothing".

Not so.

I filled my cold room shelves. I would like to list all that I have done, simply so I can look back at it next year, but, frankly, I'm exhausted. I LOVE canning. I really do. And smoking, freezing and otherwise storing up for winter. Ask my friends, they'll tell ya. But I am thoroughly tired of it at this point, and I still have pears to can. Sigh...

Right now I am trying out a dehydrator. Drying some of my Italian plums (prunes!) that bless our tree every year with abundance, and also some fruit leather. I am very excited, but also a little too tired to get too yipped up about it. Yesterday I canned tomatoes all day with my sister-in-law Kyla. It goes sooooo much smoother with two people. Friends, beware, I'll be hitting you up next year. I should mention that I had Sarah making pickles with me some time very close to her due date with baby number three. Nothing like putting a very pregnant woman to work in the kitchen! Child labour's got nothing on that.

In the morning we are off to Parksville to see our dear friends get married, and spend a weekend recharging in one of our favourite places. On Monday morning, I will deal with pears. Hopefully I will restrain myself from picking up a case of local whatever from the Island and adding to my workload, but somehow I doubt it. The time for rest is October. Until then, it's harvest time.

Scenes From the Okanagan

Well, I am behind. The kids are back to school and I haven't even posted about our summer. It was agood one. Lots of relaxing (them) and canning/freezing/smoking/etc of local, seasonal treats (me) Good times. We spent much of July "holidaying" with family and friends, and August at home. Now we just have to figure out how to get into the routine of Fall. It's not easy getting out of bed and out the door in the mornings.

Here are some snapshots of our time in the Okanagan with Sarah and Padra and their boys (who now have the addition of a girl!)

(Adding photos to posts is so important to me, but the process is giving me some major grief. Someone who knows this stuff is going to have to share tips and tricks me me. Anyone? Please?? This post took three tries and the damn photos still won't really cooperate. End of rant.)

Jason and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary the day after we arrived. Sarah and Padra kept the kids and sent us to Quail's Gate for dinner. It was absolutely superb. The best meal I've had in a long time. Crab cakes, scallops, steak, lamb...decadent, I tell you. And a great bottle of wine to top it off. And creme brulee because, you know, scallops and steak weren't enough.

Boating is top priority for our kids. Shea is a little more reserved about it all, but Faire always wants to go faster...

Can't forget tubing! Faire would stay in there all day if you let her.

The smoke from the fires in West Kelowna made everything glow and sparkle. So beautiful, but so sad to witness and hear about on the radio.

See you next year, summer house on the lake, to make more memories with one of our favourite families!